Members of Parliament’s Health Committee, who belong to the Islamist Freedom and Justice and Nour parties, have denounced certain hospitals and nursing schools for banning nurses from wearing the niqab.

“The niqab does not impede their work nor prevent patients from identifying their nurses,” said MP Fawzi Hamed.

“We must thank - not punish - a nurse wearing the niqab but doing her job right,” said committee chairman Akram al-Shaer.

Meanwhile, Kawsar Mahmoud, head of the Health Ministry’s Nursing Department, said there is a shortage of 60,000 nurses in the nursing force. “They are also maldistributed among hospitals and health units,” she said, explaining that 6,500 nurses graduate every year, whereas the health sector needs more than 10,000.